Jada Alberts

Jada Alberts is an Aboriginal Australian actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, artist and poet.

Jada Alberts
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright, director
Known forMystery Road; Cleverman; The Brothers Wreck (play)
Partner(s)Kate Box (2009–present, as of 2020)
Children3

Early life and education

Alberts is from the Top End of Australia,[1] of Larrakia, Yanuwa, Bardi, and Wardaman descent.[2][3][4] Their mother is Franchesca Cubillo.[5]

They attended Mary MacKillop College in the Adelaide suburb of Kensington from 1996 to 2001,[6] and graduated from Adelaide Centre for the Arts in 2006.[1]

Career

Alberts works in many mediums: they are an actor, musician, painter,[1] poet, and playwright.[3] They have also written for the screen.[7]

Stage

Alberts has regularly acted on stage since at least 2005, when they performed in two productions[8] as a third-year student at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts. One of these was King Lear.[9] In 2013–2014, Alberts took the role of Goneril[1] in a touring production of The Shadow King,[8] which "rework[ed] Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy King Lear as a sprawling, blood-soaked tale of two Indigenous families in Australia's north".[10]

Alberts performed in Frost/Nixon and The Birthday Party for Melbourne Theatre Company; Second to None, for Vitalstatistix and Kurruru Performing Arts; Cat (Windmill Theatre); Yibiyung (Company B / Malthouse Theatre); Wulamanayuwi and the Seven Pamanui (Darwin Festival); The Green Sheep (Cate Fowler); and several tours, both within Australia and overseas, of Saltbush (Insight Arts). In 2013 they were in This Heaven (Company B); and Hipbone Sticking Out (YijilaYala/Big hART).[1]

Alberts was assistant director of Windmill Baby for Company B in 2011.[11] They have been involved in various projects for Melbourne Workers Theatre, Arena Theatre Company, RealTV and State Theatre Company South Australia (STCSA).[1]

They have also written for the stage, including the play Brothers Wreck, first performed in 2014 by Company B[1] at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney, directed by Leah Purcell, to critical acclaim.[3] They then became associate artist at Belvoir.[1] They wrote this play out of a desire after realising that there were few Indigenous Australians represented on TV and even fewer on the stage, and that suicides in the community were not being talked about. In 2018 Alberts directed the play for a collaborative production by Malthouse and STCSA,[3][7] in her directorial debut, which was again well received.[12][13] Many elements of the production were different, but Lisa Flanagan reprised her role as Petra.[3]

In June 2023, Aretha – A Love Letter to the Queen of Soul, a tribute to American soul singer Aretha Franklin, opened at Sydney Opera House before heading to Brisbane and Melbourne. Alberts directed and narrated the musical, which featured Emma Donovan, Montaigne, Thandi Phoenix, Thndo, and Ursula Yovich, along with a nine-piece band. Alberts says that they have a special connection to Franklin's music, which they find very grounding: "Not only do I love Aretha's music and have been around it a lot in my life, but her music has also saved me at points in my life".[4]

Screen

Alberts was a regular on Cleverman and a co-winner of the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 2018 Equity Ensemble Awards.[14] They also wrote for the series.[7]

Alberts served as a writer on SBS series While the Men Are Away in 2023.[15]

Personal life

As of September 2020 Alberts is in a relationship with actress Kate Box, and they have three children together. They both appeared in prison drama series Wentworth.[16]

Alberts is non-binary and has stated a preference for using they/them pronouns.[17]

Recognition and awards

Filmography

Film and television appearances as an actor include:[21]

TV/Film
Year Title Role Notes
2023 In Our Blood [22] Deb Ferguson 4 episodes
2022 The Stranger Detective Rylett
2020 Mystery Road (TV series) Fran Davis 6 episodes
2017 Wake in Fright Sandy Fanshawe 2 episodes
2016-17 Cleverman (TV series) Nerida West 12 episodes
2013-14 Wentworth (TV series) Toni Goodes 5 episodes
2012 Redfern Now Marcia 1 episode
2010 Lil Larrakins Jimmy 3 episodes
2010 Rush Leanne Daly 1 episode
2010 Red Hill Ellin Conway
2008 The Hunter Clare Short
2005 The Hunter Olivia Short
Writer
Year Title Role Notes
2023 While the Men are Away Writer
2017 Cleverman Writer 2 episodes

References
  1. "Jada Alberts". Drama Online. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  2. Behrendt, Larissa (23 October 2016), "Jada Alberts directorial debut, Title and Deed", Speaking Out, ABC
  3. Foster, Farrin (10 June 2018). "What needed to be said". CityMag. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  4. Gbogbo, Mawunyo (11 June 2023). "Aretha Franklin's music 'saved' actor Jada Alberts, leading to a 'love letter' musical showcase". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  5. "Jada Alberts". State Library of NSW. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  6. "Jada Alberts, Awarded" (PDF). MMCOSA Old Scholars Newsletter (1, 2014): 5. 2014. Jada attended Mary MacKillop College from 1996 to 2001, and in August 2013, was announced as the winner of The Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwright's Award 2013
  7. Harford, Sonia (28 May 2018), "Rising star of Indigenous storytelling confronts suicide in Brothers Wreck", The Sydney Morning Herald
  8. "Jada Alberts: Events". AusStage. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  9. "King Lear (28 June 2005)". AusStage. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  10. "The Shadow King (11 October 2013, Melbourne)". AusStage. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  11. Milroy, David. "Windmill Baby Belvoir Sydney 2011". Belvoir St Theatre. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  12. Edwards, David (16 June 2018). "Brothers Wreck (Malthouse) - theatre review". The Blurb. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  13. Brindley, Michael (23 June 2018). "Brothers Wreck". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  14. "Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Family Law (Series 2) and Cleverman (Series 2) win 8th Annual Equity Ensemble Awards", Equity Foundation, 22 May 2018, archived from the original on 27 May 2019, retrieved 27 September 2019
  15. "Cameras roll on While the Men Are Away | TV Tonight". 25 January 2023.
  16. Northover, Kylie (4 September 2020). "Queer actors playing queer roles is a rare thing: lunch with Kate Box". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  17. Alberts, Jada [@jadaj] (10 November 2020). "And for anyone wondering... I am most comfortable being referred to as a person. I am extremely Indigenous and extremely gay. My gender is non-binary and my pronouns are they/them. If you're a Blackfella or a friend I am completely comfortable with you calling me sis, bro, cuz," (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. "2007 - Bakehouse Theatre". Adelaide Critics Circle. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  19. "Jada Alberts". Australian Plays Transform. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  20. "Mona Brand Award for Women Stage and Screen Writers". State Library of NSW. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  21. Jada Alberts at IMDb
  22. "Cast confirmed for in Our Blood | TV Tonight".
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